Mar
8
How Social Scientists Taught You to Close More Deals
Filed Under Real Estate Sales Tips | 2 Comments
People. You just never know what they’ll do next.
But if you really believe real estate is a people business, then any effort you make to better understand yourself and how others tick will make your business flow and your bank account grow.
Fortunately, a couple of social scientists have developed tools that can help you shed light on the mystery of human behavior and get a better handle on personalities…yours and others’.
For example, Wilson Learning’s “Social Styles” puts personalities into four quadrants designed to help you work with individuals in different situations.
The Enneagram Personality Insight for Business sends you on a journey of personal and organizational discovery so you can mesh easier with others.
And the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation Behavior program uncovers how your needs affect your behavior towards others.
All have received rave reviews.
But the one I’ve found to be particularly useful in real estate is the DISC profiling system (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance).
D relates to control, power and assertiveness.
I looks at how a person approaches social situations.
S is the factor of patience, persistence and thoughtfulness.
C describes a person’s approach to structure and organization.
DISC can help you identify your behavioral profile, appreciate different profiles and capitalize on your own behavioral strengths.
It can also help you anticipate and minimize potential conflicts, hire the right people and manage people in sales environments…all essential tasks in real estate.
Bob Corcoran introduced DISC to one of his clients, Valerie Hunter-Kelly, a Realtor in Clarksville, TN, when she and Bob met about three years ago. She says it has helped her better understand how to relate to co-workers and clients on their level.
“Before, I just communicated based on my personality style, but now I understand others’ personalities so I don’t get as frustrated with them as much because I understand it’s not personal it’s just the way they communicate.”
Hunter-Kelly says she now identifies every client’s personality type based on her understanding of the DISC and then shares that information with the staff member who’s charged with helping the client get to closing.
“I always ask my buyers’ agent what the client’s personality profile is because I know it helps close deals,” she says.
She says now when a problem arises, it’s typically because the agent doesn’t know the client’s personality style.
“As soon as I meet anyone, I automatically identify their personality type so I’ll know how to relate to them,” she says. “It’s just a natural part of what I do now.”
Yes, understanding people, listening to their needs and wants and responding appropriately all take a lot of work and attention. But because this is a people business, it’s simply a must.
And the better at it you become, the better living you’ll make as an agent or broker. I promise.
So tell me, have you filled out any of these personality profile tests? What did you think?
*Bob Corcoran is a nationally recognized speaker who is the founder of Corcoran Consulting, an international consulting & coaching company that specializes in performance coaching, and the implementation of sound business systems.
And if you like what you read, subscribe to the real estate marketing blog by email or news feed.
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Feb
28
Discover How to Boost Sales by Using a Few Simple Social Scientist Tools
Filed Under Real Estate Sales Tips | Leave a Comment
If you understand people then you understand real estate.
Because if it’s been said once, it’s been said a million times: real estate is a people business. And oh how much easier work and life would be if we just understood people.
Yes, humans are terribly complex, often unpredictable and sometimes just plain difficult. There’s the client who insists on knowing everything (and I mean everything) you do as you go about selling his house. Enough to drive some Realtors absolutely bonkers.
Then there’s your buyer’s agent who doesn’t tell you anything unless you pry it out of her with a crowbar.
People. You just never know.
I really believe real estate is a people business, then any effort you make at better understanding yourself and how others tick will make your business flow and your bank account grow.
And fortunately social scientists have developed tools that can help you shed light on the mystery of human behavior and get a better handle on personalities—yours and others.
Next post we will explore some of these great tools.
And if you like what you read, subscribe to the real estate marketing blog by email or news feed.
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Nov
24
When You Should Depend on a Team–and When You Shouldn’t
Filed Under Real Estate Sales Tips | 1 Comment
So, you’ve been thinking about starting a team, have you?
In spite of a dismal economy, your market seems to be rockin’…you’re doing pretty well…and, well, you want to grow.
The natural thing to do is build a team, right? Yes.
A team will help you work more efficiently. It will help you grow…
But before you go a step further, though, you need to examine your reasons for wanting to build a team. Let me show you what I mean with a little story from Realty Times columnist David Flethcer:
“I love teams, but only if I am making a contribution. The most exciting team I have been on was as a member of a 23-man crew on a B-36 bomber in the United States Air Force. I was the tail gunner. Not because I said so, but because I was trained to be one. I made a contribution to the team.
“Watching a squadron of B-36 Bombers flying in formation on a beautiful day at 42,000 feet in peacetime is heady stuff for a 19-year-old. It’s great to be on a team at times like that.
“Then one day our crew was sent to “survival” school in Reno, Nevada, where we were taught and practiced survival skills in case we were shot down behind enemy lines.
“That’s when I learned that there will be times in life when the team cannot help me. Only my skills can. When I was alone in the mountains for five days with three days supply of food it was up to me to set the traps, catch the fish, read my compass, and operate my radio.
“My team couldn’t help me. Only my skills could.”
The same is true for your sales skills…
Only your skills can seamlessly draw 12 hours of hostile talks into an objective, feel-good contract for both parties.
Only your skills can save your commission from dying on the vine in the face of a relentless barrage of arguments from a feisty seller.
Only your skills can nail 25 good leads in one night of networking. Or a day of cold calling.
Only your skills can steal the best property out from under your competitors nose with an irresistible listing presentation.
That means you need to develop your skills. You need to make a list of the three sales skills you want to develop–say negotiating, cold calling and networking–and then practice them until you master them.
Because the truth of the matter is…if you are looking to build a team so you can hand off the negotiating to someone else…or the listing presentation…or the finer points of client relationships…then you need to re-examine your motives.
You don’t want to get stuck in a situation where you fail because you depend upon someone else to handle those circumstances.
You want to be prepared to not only survive…but thrive. And thrive well. See you soon.
And if you like what you read, subscribe to the real estate marketing blog by email or news feed.
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Nov
6
Quick Tip: 5 Reasons Why Sellers Should Work with You on Both Sides of the Deal
Filed Under Real Estate Sales Tips | Leave a Comment
Did you know that one of the simplest strategies to closing more transactions is simply helping your seller’s buy their new home?
If sellers ARE staying in the area, ask if you can help find their next house. It benefits both you and the seller.
Here are five reasons why:
1. They don’t have to interview more real estate salespeople.
2. You already understand their needs, know their decorating style, have an inside look on how they live.
3. If they trust your market knowledge enough to sell their home, they should trust you to find them a new house.
4. You can help coordinate both sides of the deal so they don’t find themselves homeless for a few days between closings.
5. You can make negotiations go more smoothly and quickly. You have dates on both closings and don’t have to wait for return calls from fellow practitioners.
And if you like what you read, subscribe to the real estate marketing blog by email or news feed.
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Aug
14
When Longinotti-Buitoni took over Ferrari North America as CEO in the late 90s, the U.S. and Canada were in a recession. He couldn’t imagine people would spend their money on such an expensive, impractical car.
Since then, Longinotti-Buitoni has changed his mind.
What he learned was that the desire for a Ferrari comes from our dreams…not the part of our brain that balances the checkbook each month.
Those same dreams fuel our desire for leisure time. It fuels our desire for Gucci purses. Gulfstream jets. Beauty. Exotic vacations. And houses.
You, real estate agent, need to understand these dreams. And reinterpret a house in terms of your client’s fantasy world.
But it’s not about selling homes to people who apear on the cover of Vanity Fair. Average people like you and I have our own set of dreams to fulfill.
That’s why Volkswagon could sell a van called the Beetle to thousands of hippies. Our Levi’s could position a pair of denim jeans like a vein of gold in the foothills of California.
Think about Nike shoes and what they mean to inner-city kids: An escape from his oppressive origins.
Bottom line: People fantasize about the things they can’t afford. Selling a house to a buyer is all about tapping into that fantasy.
The best way I’ve found to do that is to simply show them their dream home. Yes, they might not know it’s their dream home. But when you roll up to the $500,000 house and they gasp, “There’s no way we can afford that,” you need to respond, “Let’s look at it anyway.”
Elevate their fantasy and anything you show them after that will seem below them. They will naturally gun for homes at their high-end of price.
What’s truly heartbreaking about this tactic, though, is this: It’s nothing more than the notorious takeaway. You’ve given them something they want…and now you take it away.
You see this when you prohibit your seven-year-old from playing his Nintendo DS. We, especially Americans, freak when we go from freedom back to bondage.
And bondage is exactly how it feels. No one likes going from abundance to lack. You’re constricted. Restrained.
And you lie awake dreaming about what you once had. Be it a million dollar home or $150,000 car.
Granted, you don’t want to set your client up to fail. So you must be careful when using this tactic. You must use common sense and constantly check in with your client to make sure he’s not getting in over his head.
Yet, this plays into the gambit in two ways.
One, you protect your client. Two, you demonstrate that you aren’t desperate for this deal. That you could walk away. That’s a powerful indication that there’s more to this sale than money, making the house all that more irresistable.
And if you like what you read, subscribe to the real estate marketing blog by email or news feed.
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Jun
19
Eliminate This Behavior and Become More Effective
Filed Under Real Estate Prospecting Ideas, Real Estate Sales Tips | Leave a Comment
Has this happened to you recently: you tend to become desperate in tight times by trying to aggressively pin down real estate buyers?
But did you know that removing pressure from the sales process will actually cause you to win more listings and prospects and sell more homes?
That’s right. A sales approach where you create pressure-free conversations with buyers is more effective.
However, to do that it’s essential that you eliminate behaviors and language that buyers can perceive as “aggressive.”
We all know what these are — continual e-mail and voicemail “followups” in which agents try to pin down the status of a potential real estate buyer– is one common example.
[And of course it's becoming more and more difficult to nail down a potential buyer in this market.]
The problem is that prospects react to aggressive–or perhaps we should say “overaggressive”–sales behaviors by withdrawing and evading us.
In fact, what you have to do instead of being passive or aggressive is this: you have to take the “middle ground” by being authentically unassuming, yet effective–and that this is the most stress-free and effective way to sell.
What do I mean by “authentically unassuming, yet effective”?
How to Discover a Whole New Effectiveness
For starters you have to shift away from assuming that every buyer is a fit for your any of your listings.
It’s sort of like the legal concept of “being innocent until proven guilty.”
You can’t afford to make any assumptions about “fit” until your conversation with the buyer indicates that you two mutually arrived at that conclusion.
The aggressiveness that turns off buyer sets in when you assume, every time you pick up the phone, that you have a solution for them.
Your tone of voice and language gives them that message long before they’ve even had a chance to agree that you have the home that they want.
But if you can manage to find that middle ground of not assuming anything while also communicating in a low-key, unassuming manner, you’ll discover a whole new effectiveness you could never have imagined.
Flawed Logic
Can prospects sense when you’re assuming too much? Sure they can–because most of us have been conditioned to present or talk about our solution as a way to engage prospects so they’ll reveal their problems to us.
But that logic is completely flawed.
When you launch into your speal to someone who doesn’t trust you yet, all you do is allow them to pigeonhole you as a stereotyped “salesperson.”
How to Become Unassuming but Effective
First, learn to start conversations by focusing 100 percent on generating discussions around your prospects’ problems, rather than pitching your listing inventory the second you hear an opening.
Second, learn to begin those conversations by converting the benefits of your homes into problems that your homes will actually solve.
Third, after you and your prospects have identified a desires or needs, you can then engage in a discussion about whether meeting those needs is a priority.
It’s only at that point that prospects have finally given you implicit permission to share your inventory with them.
Jumping in with solutions prematurely will only land you back in the trap of being perceived as “aggressive.”
What Do You Think?
Have you found yourself having to get aggressive? Do you approach this market differently since buyers have tightened the purse strings? Or are you in one of these bubble-proof markets?
Let me know what you think.
And if you like what you read, subscribe to the real estate marketing blog by email or news feed.
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Apr
22
The key to being successful is sweating the small stuff. That comes down to the very words that you use. That’s why I’ll always encourage you to paint persuasive word pictures for your clients.
But don’t stop there.
Avoid those words that raise flags for buyers and sellers. Words that paint ugly, bad pictures–albeit, stereotypes–of salespeople.
Following is a list of Tom Hopkin’s “Thou shalt not say” words. Words that generate pictures of sleazy car salesmen, images of big city political hustlers. Words that put prospects on the defensive, out of the buying mood.
“Cost” or “Price.”
Here’s what your client sees when you say these words: Money leaving their wallet. Instead, say “total investment,” which creates a picture of putting your money to work.
“Monthly Payment”
Picture of bills. And they already have too many of those.
Instead, say “monthly investment.” Again, a picture of putting your hard-earned dollars to work, which everyone enjoys hearing.
“Sell” or “Sold”
Picture of being pushed or pressured. Think telemarketers and resort sellers.
Instead, say “get involved with” or “helped you acquire.” Pictures of participation and benevolence. Big difference here.
“This Will Be a Good Deal.”
(Personal pet peeve of mine.) Picture of back office, city politics. The pool hall deal. Used car lot negotiations. It’s got corruption written all over it.
Instead, say “opportunity.” “This will be a good opportunity.” Ah. Need I say more?
“Just Sign Here.”
You’re client or prospect sees you holding them hostage to an agreement–forever. Will spook even the most seasoned home buy, I bet.
Instead, say “endorse,” “authorize” or “approve the paperwork.” Pictures of you in the driver’s seat, you with the power.
Conclusion
Remember: a successful sale is made up of dozens–if not hundreds–of smaller parts. Success comes together like a deliberate, systematic arrangement of jigsaw puzzle pieces.
That means the words you use are just some of those parts. A tiny part, yes, but could be the very hinge that closes the door on your “opportunity.” Let me know what you think.
Did you find this article useful? If so, leave a comment. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the Real Estate Marketing Blog.
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Apr
9
The numbers game will wear you out. It will leave you dissatisfied, frustrated, and rejected.
The whole idea of the numbers game is that if you spend enough time dialing, churning through prospects, you’re bound to make the occasional sale.
Burn and churn, baby.
Problem is, when you do make a sale, you believe even more that the number of prospects you burned through was the secret to success.
“I made 100 calls and got 2 deals.” So you make more calls. “If I make 1,000 calls I’ll get 20 deals.”
The thing is, real estate is not a game of small-scale volume. You don’t work for Wal-Mart.
Outside of the exhaustion and relentless rejection behind this approach, here’s the real tragedy: its not about how many sales you are making…but how many sales you are losing.
Count the Cost
Is it really worth mowing through 1,000 calls to get 20 deals? Some might say yes.
But what if I could show you a way were you could mosey through half as many calls and still make 20 deals?
Think about it.
When you’re operating out of the old numbers game paradigm, how many leads do you burn through with every call you make?
And how much time do you spend chasing and following up with prospects who will probably never work with you?
It’s really a bad deal to get into. It’s a treadmill.
And I’ll go on the record as saying that yes, some real estate agents love burning through a list and yes, they will actually make very good money doing it, but…
Just because they’re really good at it and it’s the way they found success, doesn’t mean that it IS the only way to success. If they believe this, then they suffer from the I’m-a-hammer-and-everything-else-is-a-nail-syndrome.
Don’t fall under this guy’s spell. He’ll wear you out. No, he’ll chew you up and spit you out. And when you fail, he’ll make you feel like its your fault.
But it’s not. The approach is just not for you.
Dr. Bernie Siegel said “It was impossible to fail with the parents I had. If I got an F in Music, they’d look at me and say, ‘I guess you’re not a musician’.”
How to Carve Out an Approach That Is Right for You
If something about the burn and churn approach doesn’t sit right with you, reconsider your options. In all probability, if it doesn’t sit right with you it’s because it’s an old school approach inappropriate for our current economic view.
I can’t think of any consumer who appreciates cold calling, hustling, rapid fire questions, impatience.
Besides, when you churn and burn you’ll soon find you’re trapped, making huge numbers of calls to reach that tiny percentage of prospects who will buy from you.
In a nutshell, here’s the ugliness of churn and burn:
- Burning through calls involves huge investments of time and energy to achieve a few successes.
- Numbers-game scripts talk at prospects and lead to rejection in all but a tiny percentage of calls.
- Prospects know that they’re just a phone number to you and that you’re not interested in engaging them on a human level.
- The only goal is to move the sale forward, or to get a quick “no” so you can move on to the next call.
The mystique of the old numbers game is that you’re bound to “hit” once in a while.
But people who sell the old way never ask themselves how many opportunities they’ve lost in a day because they haven’t gotten to the truth with their prospects.
Now, when you focus on quality rather than volume, when you focus on building a relationship instead of closing a deal, when you focus on every call is a chance to unearth a possible client.
That means your calls have to be more thoughtful and efficient.
And you have to walk into them with this mindset: I’m simply here to say hello to this person.
Now this doesn’t exclude you from the ABC rule: Always Be Closing. If you can bump the fruit into your basket in under five minutes to get a contract, by all means do so.
Here are a few tips to consider when making phone calls to prospects:
- Starting calls with a focused problem statement makes it easy to create two-way dialogue.
- Your attentiveness to your prospects’ concerns makes a real human connection possible.
- The goal is to learn the truth and explore there’s a fit between your solution and your prospect’s problem or concern.
- And when you’ve learned the truth, whether the answer is a yes or a no, rejection is impossible.
Conclusion
If you’re feeling guilty that you should be playing the old numbers game because your colleagues are making sales from it, consider this: All you’re seeing from them is how many sales they are making–not how many sales they’re losing.
And consider that by refocusing your attention on the quality of each call versus the volume of calls, you can experience new sales success you may never have thought possible.
For more information, see my short story about Tammy and Rick, southern Illinois agents making it happen in this recession. [About half way down the page.]
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Leave a comment if this post was helpful or if you have anything you’d like to add. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the real estate marketing Blog by email or news feed.
Mar
31
The reason most prospects lie to you is that they have multiple layers of sales resistance.
Traditionally the sale model has always been about advancing the sale. Well, the people in your market place are fed up with the traditional sales model.
People are tired of being manipulated.
Inwardly, the prospect you’re dealing with simply wants to be treated like a person. And all too often the sales dialogs or scripts you’re using are structured with the sales process in mind first—and not the person on the other end.
Think about it from your own experiences.
How many times have you been approached and you knew the top priority of the salesperson was to advance the sale? The car salesmen. The insurance agent. They cared more about their agenda than they did about you.
As Greg Swan said, Life stinks when your heads up your….
Death to the Traditional Sales Model
Well the person you’re attempting to serve is no different. People have become extremely sensitive to the slightest hint of anything to do with the sales process.
Yes. I’m an advocate of becoming highly skilled with questions so you can diagnose your client’s needs [critical if you want to earn a paycheck in this soft market].
BUT…you’ve got to be very careful. You have to be very delicate and super-sensitive to the person you’re talking to…and their needs.
And the best thing I’ve found to help remove sales resistance is to completely let go of your sales agenda. I mean throw it out the window. Focus totally and completely on their needs—not your goals.
The real goal should be to get to a genuine, authentic dialog with that person.
By getting to what sales trainer Ari Galper refers to as the real truth, you’re positioning yourself to be a true problem solver.
But until you get to the real truth you’re actually stuck in somewhat of a guessing game.
See oddly enough, over time, it has become completely socially acceptable to lie to salespeople.
Why? Because the overriding opinion about salespeople is they’re only interested in getting the sale.
The worst part is all the sales models, all the sales training, all the traditional tools have been teaching us to advance the sales process. Well guess what? People have figured the process out.
They can smell it from a mile away. And if they catch even the slightest trace that you’re attempting to advance the sale…you’ve lost the game.
Once they sense that you’re in any way attempting to advance your agenda…you’ll never get to the real truth.
And unconsciously they will feel completely justified in lying to you.
4 Hidden Pressure Points
Whenever potential clients feel sales pressure, they almost always respond with defense and resistance and lying. Hidden sales pressure takes many forms. If we can avoid the ways we bring sales pressure into our cold calling, then we can stop triggering this response.
Here are four hidden sales pressures that we bring to our cold calling:
1. Focusing On the Sales Agenda
If you’re like most people who make cold calls, you’re hoping to make a sale — or at least an appointment — before you even pick up the phone. The problem is the people you call somehow almost immediately notice your mindset.
They sense that you are only focused on your goals and interests, rather than on finding out what they might need or want. This short-circuits the whole process of communication and trust building.
So try this. Practice shifting your mental focus into thinking, “When I make this call, first I’m going to build a conversation. From this, a level of trust can emerge which allows us to exchange information back and forth. And then we can both determine if there’s a fit or not.”
When your focus shifts from making a sale into making a conversation, there’s no sales pressure. Many people enjoy conversations. Moreover, as long as you’re sincere, this will be one of them.
2. Talking About Ourselves First
When we start our cold calls with a mini-pitch about who we are and what we have to offer, we’ve introduced sales pressure right away. The other person knows we want to make a sale, and they have to respond to that pressure. Most will respond with defense or rejection or lying.
So instead, start your conversation by focusing on a need or issue you know the other person is likely facing. Step into their world and invite them to share whether they’re open to exploring possible solutions with you.
3. Forcing the Conversation into a Pre-Planned Strategy or Script
Here’s a hard one to avoid if we’re using scripts or carefully planned cold calling strategies.
When we rely on these methods, it’s usually because we just don’t know how else to “do” cold calling. However, when we take charge of a conversation in this way, the other person almost always feels like they are being maneuvered. That’s pressure.
I’m not suggesting that we don’t prepare and plan for our cold calls. There are some really good ways to begin cold calls that we’ll want to use over and over. Additionally, there are special phrases we can use that convey well the fact that we’re interested in solving a problem for the other person.
What we want to avoid, however, is trying to control a cold calling conversation. This almost always happens with scripts and old-style sales strategies. Potential clients feel this pressure and respond negatively.
4. Bubbling with Over-Enthusiasm
The problem with over-enthusiasm in our conversations is that the other person has to make a decision whether to buy into our perspective, or reject it. They feel the hidden sales pressure that wants them to be carried along with our enthusiasm. This usually means braking, whether gently or abruptly.
With over-enthusiasm (which is often just an offshoot of our tension), potential clients feel somewhat boxed in. They feel the pressure of our expectations so they feel compelled to respond either positively or negatively. Most will almost always respond negatively.
So chill out.
Conclusion
Eliminating all sales pressure from your conversations will invite the other person to respond much more warmly and positively.
And the best way to do that is to completely throw out your sales agenda. Focus on diffusing pressure. This is a gentle process where you carefully use language that demonstrates you’re only interested in serving them.
Leave a comment if this post was helpful or if you have anything you’d like to add. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the real estate marketing Blog by email or news feed.
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Mar
20
Conquering Call Reluctance Once and For All
Filed Under Real Estate Prospecting Ideas, Real Estate Sales Tips | 1 Comment
Anne G. reviews the MLS to make sure she knows all of the new listings that might be of interest to her buyers–instead of following up on her leads.
Hank M. defers his follow up calls so he can build his industry knowledge by reading journals and newsletters.
And Chris H. finds herself giving in to the impulse to write proposals for prospective clients rather than pick up the phone.
What do these three real estate agents share in common? You probably guessed it, call reluctance.
Call reluctance is the “social disease of the sales profession.” Each year, call reluctance single-handedly accounts for over half of all failures in one of the largest professions in the world.
In their book Earning What You’re Worth, researchers George Dudley and Shannon Gooson write that as many as 80 percent of all salespeople who fail within their first year do so because of insufficient call activity.
Unresolved call reluctance can cause frustration and loss of sales. So with this in mind, how do you overcome call reluctance?
Here are five tips:
1. Aim for a number of calls you will make each day. Make this goal small and comfortable.
2. Next, increase the daily number of calls you will make. Do this slowly. Here you will start to see that you don’t encounter the bad things you imagined, or, if you do, you find out that you can handle them.
3. Record each call. In a notebook strictly devoted to your sales calls, make notes about things you should have done differently. Keep this notebook handy whenever you make sales calls and review it every day before you make phone calls.
4. Realize the difference between real and imaginary threats. Over time you will recognize that ninety-nine times out of a hundred the bad things you thought would happen, don’t. And if you do experience rejection or fear, realize it’s not personal. The caller is rejecting your offer, not you.
5. Report to an accountability person. Whether it’s you’re spouse or friend, broker or coach, invite someone to help you stay on track and meet your goals.
Caution: Research shows that successful people do the hard things other people refuse to do. Work through these five steps only if you want to break through to the next level. Follow the footsteps of the successful now and within time you will prosper.
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Leave a comment if this post was helpful or if you have anything you’d like to add. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the real estate marketing Blog by email or news feed.